Kitten rescuers
by theuncaffeinatedbitch
Summary: Phil spots a kitten stuck in a tree and he begs Dan to get it down. It all goes well, until Dan's foot gets stuck in a gap and they need to call for help. WARNINGS: None.


It's Sunday evening. Dan Howell and Phil Lester just finished their weekly radio show at BBC Radio 1. Due to maintenance work on the metro's they are forced to walk the last bit home. Walking through the park at 11 p.m. isn't one of the things Phil enjoys to do, but Dan assured him it's shorter then following the main road. Trusting his friend, he agreed to go through the park. It's quiet around them. They are probably the only ones in the park at this time. It's calming, but on the other hand it's a bit scary. They are walking in silence, both thinking about different things, when Phil hears a soft mewl coming from somewhere above him. He stops and looks up to the big tree on his left.

"What is it, Phil?" Dan asks when he noticed his friend stopped walking. He walks back to Phil, who is now standing right next to tree, inspecting the branches and leaves. He also looks up, but he can't find the thing Phil seems so interested about.

"Listen" is all Phil says and then Dan hears it too. The soft mewling. He takes a better looks at the branches and then he sees the source. A small kitten is standing on one of the big branches. Its eyes are wide and it's mewling like it's scared.

"It's a cat" Dan shrugs and he turns around to continue his way, but Phil grabs his arm and stops him,

"He's stuck!"

"He'll get down eventually. He climbed up there himself, didn't he?"

"We can't just leave him there! What if he can't come down?" Phil says, shocked at Dan's lack of interest in the poor little kitten. People may be missing it. Maybe they're looking for it everywhere. If they can get it out of the tree and back on the ground it can find its way back home.

Dan sighs deeply and he ruffles his hair. Phil and his goddamn love for animals! He drops his hand from his hair and gestures at the tree. "Fine. I'll climb up there"

"I can do that - " Phil starts, but Dan shakes his head.

"No way. You can't even get a bowl out of the cabinet without injuring yourself. I go up there. I used to be a great tree climber when I was younger"

He pushes a pouting Phil out of his way and he stretches his arm out. He grabs the first branch and with help from Phil, who pushes him up by his feet, he manages to climb onto the first branch. The kitten is sitting three more branches up and Dan sighs again. It's not like he scared of heights. It's just that he rather stays on the safe ground then standing on a thin branch in some goddamn tree to safe a kitten. He climbs onto the last branch and he reaches the kitten. When he tries to grab it, he feels his its nails scratching on his skin. He hisses and pulls away his arm. He looks down to Phil.

"He's attacking me!"

"Just grab him. Reach down and I'll take him from you"

Dan mumbles a series of curse words that only he can hear and he tries again. This time the kitten doesn't struggle and Dan holds it under its tummy. He climbs down two branches, being careful not to drop the kitten. He reaches down and let the kitten drop in Phil's outstretches hands. He watches him put the kitten down on the ground, which immediately runs away from them.

"You're welcome" Dan yells after the kitten and he can hear Phil giggle beneath him.

"Climb down now" he says to Dan, "and be careful!"

Dan smiles slightly at the concerned tone in Phil's voice. He places his right foot on the branch below. When he wants to put his left foot on the same branch, he feels it slip down the branch. Before he can pull himself up or keep himself steady, his foot twists into a small gap between the end of the branch and the tree. He immediately feels a sharp pain in his ankle when his foot twists and he lets out a small whimper of pain.

"Dan! What's happening?" Phil yells at him.

"I twisted my foot and now it's stuck in a gap" Dan gasps. He holds the branch in front of him with both hands. He's afraid to try to tug his foot out. If he does he will loose his balance.

"What can I do?"

Dan hears the panic in Phil's voice. He feels a bit panicked himself too. He doesn't have many options to get out of the tree. Only two to be precisely. He can either try to pull his foot out of the gap or wait for someone to pass by who can help them. The first option isn't his first choice. He is certain that he will break his ankle if he tries to pull it out, but the second option isn't a great one either. It's almost 11:30 p.m. and the chance that someone is in the park right now is null.

Then an idea pops up in his head and he almost smacks himself for not thinking about that sooner. He carefully looks down to Phil, who is standing on the ground looking rather clueless. He hisses when another shot of pain shoots through his ankle.

"Phil, call PJ"

-

"Phil!"

Phil turns around when he hears his name. He sees PJ running up to him. Right beside him he spots Jack and he sighs relieved. He did call PJ to ask him if he could help him, but he's glad that Jack's with him too.

"How did you get stuck up there?" Jacks calls out to Dan as him and PJ reach Phil and the tree.

"It's my fault" Phil starts, sounding guilty, "there was a kitten stuck in the tree and I wanted to help him. Dan didn't, but eventually he climbed up there to get him down. It worked, but when he wanted to climb down himself his foot got stuck"

"It's not your fault" Dan mumbles from his place in the tree, "now get me down, please"

The three guys look up at their friend. He's clutching the branch in front of him to keep his balance, but they can see his arms are shaking from the strength he's using to keep himself up. His left foot is invisible for them and his right foot is resting on the branch one below the one he's holding his left foot on. His position looks really uncomfortable and the three guys know they have to get him down quickly.

"Okay. Phil, help me get up there" PJ says and he grabs the branch Dan used to get into the tree. With the help of Phil and Jack he manages to pull himself up. He quickly climbs up the branches until he reaches Dan. He manoeuvres behind Dan and steadies himself. He then pats Dan's shoulder, "lean against my chest. Give your arms some rest, okay?"

Dan nods and a relieved feeling spreads through his body when he rests his back against PJ's chest. His arms tingle and it isn't until now he notices how tired he is. PJ feels Dan relax and he looks down to Jack and Phil.

"One of you have to climb up here to get his foot out. I'll keep him balanced as you do"

Jack nods and with the help of Phil he reaches PJ and Dan within a minute. He studies the gap that holds Dan's foot and he looks up at his friend.

"I have to pull your foot out, Dan. It may hurt a bit" he says. He holds onto Dan's ankle and PJ can feel him tense up immediately. He rubs his arm with his hand.

"We'll get you down, okay? Just relax. I won't let you fall"

He watches Jack wiggle Dan's foot. Slowly he manages to wiggle it out of the gap and Dan lets out a gasp of pain when his foot gets out. He unbalances a bit, but PJ holds him in place. When Jack lets go of his foot, Dan brings it down to his right one. He lets out a shaky breath and closes his eyes for a second. He's relieved to have his foot out of the gap. All he has to do now is climb down. Slowly and with the help of both Jack and PJ he manages to get back on the grass. Phil takes his arms and helps him sit down on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Phil asks worried.

Dan only nods.

"And your ankle?"

"It hurts' Dan mumbles, feeling exhausted from the little adventure. He tries to move his foot around, but when the pain shoots through his leg, he stops. It hurts too much. He rolls his jeans up a bit and spots a big bruise on his ankle. He sighs; bruising is usually the sign of a broken bone – something he really doesn't want or need right now.

"I'm sorry" Phil whispers softly and Dan looks up at his best friend.

"Don't be. It's not your fault, okay?" He smiles and nudges Phil's shoulder with his fist, "but I think I would like to go to the hospital to get it checked"

"Of course" Phil exclaims and he helps Dan up on his feet. He wraps his arm around his waist to make sure he's steady. Dan leans against Phil to keep the weight of his bad ankle and he wraps his other arm around Jack's shoulders. Slowly he hobbles between them towards PJ's car.

"Thank you, guys, for getting me down"

Jack chuckles, "Anytime, Dan"


End file.
